How does Daisy do this every morning without crying?! I’m two minutes away from giving up and just wearing a scarf inside the house. I grab another random bottle.
BB cream. What the fuck is a BB cream?
Why is it BB?? Where’s AA?? CC??
Why are there letters? Let’s see.
A tiny green tube. Color Corrector. I squint at it.
Green. Green cancels out red and purple… right? Or was that something about the color wheel?
God, school was useless.
I dab the tiniest bit on my neck. Blend with my finger.
Oh.
OH.
The purple disappears. I grab more, working carefully, trying not to overdo it. Slowly, the marks start fading like magic. I brush a little foundation on top, this time carefully, not like a wild animal. My neck starts looking normal again.
I did it. I actually fixed it. This is it.
I throw on an old t-shirt and sweats, and head downstairs. Jin’s already at the table, digging into a bowl of rice like he hasn’t eaten since I left.
Daisy’s on her phone, half-watching a show. I sit down. Fork in hand. But everything tastes like cardboard. Because Gio’s not here. Because Gio’s close, but still so far away. And I miss him like I’ve been gone a year.
The rice is too hot. The room is too loud.
We’re all around the table now. "So," my dad says, knife tapping against his plate. "Howreallywas Spain?"
I swallow. "It was… fine," I say.
Fine.
It was Gio’s hand between my thighs under the hotel sheets. It was Gio whispering "let me take care of you" before pushing inside me. It was his hands around my throat.
"Fine?" Daisy echoes. "That’s it?"
"It was work, what did you expect?" I mumble. Jin leans in. "Was Gio there the whole time?"
Yes. In my bed. In my mouth. In my head. In my body.
"Yeah," I say casually. "He and Lorenzo ran most of the meetings."
Daisy smirks. "He’s such a dick. Right, Rava?"
I shrug. "Yeah. He’s… intense." My mom smiles, cutting her food. "But brilliant. He always impressed me."
He makes me forget my name. He calls me beautiful."Yeah," I say. "He’s sharp."
Jin snickers.
"Sharpandhot. That tattoo, though…" he whistles. Daisy chimes in, dramatic: "Ugh,thatone right on top of his…yeah? Yeah. Real subtle, Mr. Bad Boy."
I nearly choke on my drink.
I licked it. I kissed it while I was on my knees.
